1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a hard disk drive (HDD), and more particularly, to a HDD with a hard disk damper reducing vibrations of rotating disks and method for the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hard disk drives (HDDs) can store information for computers and reproduce data stored in a disk or record data on the disk using a read/write head. In such HDDs, the read/write head operates by being moved by an actuator to a desired position while being lifted a predetermined height over a recording surface of the rotating disk.
HDDs can include a spindle motor, one or more data storage disks mounted on the spindle motor, and .an actuator to move a read/write head for reading and/or writing data to a predetermined position on the disks.
The disks, the spindle motor, and the actuator can be enclosed by a housing made up of a base member and a cover member. The base member and the cover member can be assembled using a plurality of fastening screws, for example.
In such HDDs, the rotating disks may flutter due to structural defects of the spindle motor, deflection of the disks during an assembly process, and turbulent air flow within the HDDs. In particular, non-negligible air flow may be generated around the rapidly rotating disks, for example, in the spaces between the disks, such that the air flow can cause the disks to vibrate. Once such vibrations of the disks occur, position error signals (PESs) increase and data writing and/or reading operations of the read/write head deteriorate, thereby negatively affecting the performance of the HDDs.
In a recent attempt to solve these problems, a thin plate-shaped disk damper has been installed between adjacent disks.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional disk damper installed between disks, with FIG. 2 illustrates a vertical sectional view of disks and a disk damper, as shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of disks 31 and 32 can be amounted on a spindle motor 20, installed on a base member 10 of a hard disk drive (HDD). A disk damper 40 can be installed between the disks 31 and 32. Once the disk damper 40 is installed between the disks 31 and 32, the distance between the disk damper 40 and each of the disks 31 and 32 narrows, and thus vibrations of the disks 31 and 32 become reduced by a damping effect of air being compressed between the disk damper 40 and each of the disks 31 and 32.
However, when the distance between the disk damper 40 and each of the disks 31 and 32 narrows, as the disk damper 40 is installed between the disks 31 and 32, if external shocks are applied (e.g., during a shock test), outer edges of the disks 31 and 32 and an edge portion of the disk damper 40 can vertically move and come into contact with each other. In this case, data recording surfaces of the disks 31 and 32 can be damaged, thereafter resulting in errors being generated during later read and write operations.
In particular, the disk damper 40 has an outer circumference conforming with outer circumferences of the disks 31 and 32. Thus, if there is an error during the installation of the disk damper 40, and the disk damper 40 moves inward such that the outer circumference of the disk damper 40 is laid within the outer circumference of each of the disks 31 and 32, it is more probable that the data recording surfaces of the disks 31 and 32 will be damaged.